My Very Own Limping Twerp
by KylaRyan
Summary: This is probably going to be the longest fanfic I've ever written to date....Summary inside.Chapter 19!
1. Chapter 1

My Very Own Limping Twerp  
Dedicated to Genny (limpingtwerp), Deanna (Lover Boy), and Cody

_Author's Notes_  
**Rating:** T  
**Summary:**

character death "minor" drug abuse references to the organs of the reproductive system a hyper and giddy neurologist House acts out of character at times Chase and Cameron using the lab for "personal reasons" a creepy crossover moment with the Lord of the Rings House unable to take care of himself the evil hairdryer of Oncology Cuddy, House, and Wilson play boardgames Cuddy thinks House may have found religion House has a creepy twin sister named Kristen Cameron and Chase perform two-person CPR on House House has a revelation concerning clinic duty House tells Wilson a big secret Spoilers: "Cane and Abel" "Control" "Sex Kills" "Insensitive" "Top Secret" House gets into serious trouble in the lab 

**Ships:** HousexWilson, ChasexCameron

* * *

_A/N: "Hindsight" by House of Bones_

Chapter One: 20/20 Hindsight  
"Why didn't I say yes?" Wilson asked the comatose form in the hospital bed before him.  
No snide remark answered him. And Wilson was certain it was all his fault. _It just had to be!_  
hindsight hindsight hindsight hindsight  
_The drunk driver had caught him by surprise._  
Who drives drunk in a hospital parking lot?_ House thought as he drifted in and out of conciousness for nearly an hour before Cuddy'd found his broken body trapped beneath his broken motorcycle._  
hindsight hindsight hindsight hindsight  
"That motorcycle saved his life," a paramedic had informed Cuddy.  
"But what if he can't use his left leg at all?" Cuddy could not help but cry out in reply.  
"He'll still have a perfectly fine right leg. The femur would have been protected by the muscles of his thigh," comforted the paramedic--who obviously didn't know House.  
Cuddy chose not to correct the ignorant paramedic. House could do it himself--if he woke up.  
_When he wakes up, Cuddy, WHEN,_ she told herself as she walked to House's room, where Wilson was already there, holding his friend's hand in his own. _He will wake up._  
But Cuddy knew since House had not had the chance to put on his helmet when he'd been hit, there was probably massive head trauma.  
hindsight hindsight hindsight hindsight 

_They say that hindsight  
Is always 20/20  
_Wilson held House's hand in his own.  
_Well, my dearest friend,  
This time, they're right_  
Tears brimmed in his soft chocolate brown eyes.  
_If only things had been different  
If only I had said yes instead of no  
If only you hadn't been hit  
If only..._  
Tears streamed down his cheeks, flowing unchecked.  
_But I can't turn back the clock,  
Not even for you, lover_  
Wilson begged House to wake up, knowing full well that House wouldn't wake up until he was well and ready to.  
_We're always been a couple  
Through thick and thin,  
Through the good and the bad,  
Through the pain..._  
Wilson didn't care what everyone else said--House would wake up. He _had_ to wake up.  
_But this time,  
We suffer alone.  
This time,  
We suffer apart._  
Wilson refused to leave House's side. Cameron, Chase, and Foreman took turns bringing him something to eat from the hospital cafeteria.  
_No shoulder to cry on,  
No comforting embraces,  
No scathing statements_  
Wilson blamed himself for what had happened, even though there'd been no way Wilson could have known that that was going to happen.  
_They say hindsight  
Is always 20/20_  
"House, wake up!" Wilson begged.  
_Well, my dearest friend,  
This time, they're right._  
If only he had said yes instead of no when House had asked for a ride home yesterday afternoon.  
_No one to lean on,  
No pitying glances,  
No thudding cane_

Only a worried silence  
Broken by the beeping of your heart

Why did I not say yes  
You wouldn't've laughed at me  
So why didn't I speak my heart?  
Why did God deciede  
You had to be in pain?  
Wilson rested his head gentlely on House's chest, taking care to not bump the banage that protected House's bruised and battered ribs.  
_They say hindsight  
Is always 20/20_  
He closed his eyes and fell fast asleep.  
_Well, my dearest friend,  
This time, they're right._  
Wilson slept undistrubed by dreams.  
hindsight hindsight hindsight hindsight hindsight hindsight  
_"What happened?"_  
...you were hit by a drunk in the hospital parking lot...  
_"Why can't I feel any pain?"_  
...why should you care about that? do you like being in pain?...  
_"No, of course not. I'm just kind of used to being in pain."_  
...oh, okay...  
_"So?"_  
...so what?...  
_"Why can't I feel any pain?"_  
...you still on that?...  
_"Duh."_  
...you sure you really want to know?...  
_"Yes."_  
...you're in a coma...  
_"That's better than what I thought you were going to say."_  
...death?...  
_"Yeah, that."_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: "Here" by House of Bones_

Chapter Two: Here I Am  
_Here I am,  
In this empty place alone.  
Where are you, darling?  
Here I am alone_  
House felt a sudden breeze cut through his body.  
_Standing alone in the face of danger,  
You promised to stay forever at my side.  
Why have you left me now?_

My legs buckle  
Too much pain for a soul to bear alone  
Why have you abandoned me now?  
He was melting away, becoming a tiny leaf on a hurricane wind.  
_Here I am,  
In this empty place alone.  
Where are you, darling?  
Here I am alone_  
He was a tiny guppy in a huge aquarium.  
_Tears stain my cheeks  
I can feel my heart breaking  
Where are you now?_  
House suddenly found himself in a hospital room.  
_I find it hard to breath  
I hear your heart beating somehow  
I know you are near, but I can't see you  
Where are you?_  
House could see his own body lying in the hospital bed, Wilson's head resting on his chest. House could feel the light pressure on his chest.  
_Here I am,  
In this empty place alone.  
Where are you, darling?  
Here I am alone_  
House screamed as all the pain his body was in overwhelmed him.  
_Here I am...alone_

here here here here here here here


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: The first half of this chapter was inspired by a poem I wrote for the journalism teacher at my high school for her marriage, which was entitled "Sign."_

Chapter Three: Signs of Life and Love  
_I want to, I need to  
Know that you love me.  
Give me a sign,  
A sign of your love._

Are you blind?  
Can't you see  
In every little way,  
The little signs of my love,  
My love for you?  
I see the little signs,  
I cherish them.  
But I need more,  
More than a single kiss.

I want to, I need to  
Know that you love me.  
Give me a sign,  
A sign of your love

I reach out for your hand  
But mine is weighed down,  
Weighed down with lead.  
I clasp tight your hand  
Praying that you'll wake,  
Wake up and surive.

I want to, I need to  
Know that you love me.  
Give me a sign,  
A sign of your love.

I float on the surface  
Lifeless, yet breathing.  
Dim shapes move,  
Move across my vision  
The beating of his heart  
Speeds up slowly.  
Slowly he wakes up,  
Wakes up from a week-long slumber.

I want to, I need to  
Know that you love me.  
Give me a sign,  
A sign of your love.

Dim shapes become clearer,  
Your face recognizable.  
Who are you who makes me,  
Makes me feel this way?  
I see your confusion,  
I see your bewilderment,  
I see your feelings.  
You are an open book,  
An open book that should stay shut.

I want to, I need to  
Know that you love me.  
Give me a sign,  
A sign of your love.

I want to, I need to  
Know that you love me.  
Give me a sign,  
Give me a sign,  
Give me a sign,  
A sign of your love  
sign sign sign sign sign sign  
"Cuddy! Cuddy!" shouted Foreman as he burst into Cuddy's office.  
"What is it? Is the hospital on fire?" Cuddy asked, wondering what could possibly upset the usually calm neurologist so much.  
"House's awake!" Foreman shouted joyously.  
Kicking off her stilletoes, Cuddy leapt from her chair and ran to House's room, Foreman close behind her.  
sign sign sign sign sign sign sign sign sign sign sign  
"House! You're awake!" exclaimed Cuddy as she entered House's room.  
_Duh, Cuddy!_ House thought. But he didn't say anything out loud.  
When he didn't answer, Cuddy looked worriedly at Wilson, who wordlessly told her that House was just fine.  
I WANT TO GO HOME, House signed to Wilson.  
NOT YET, HOUSE. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOTHING ELSE WRONG WITH YOU, Wilson signed back in reply.  
"What was that?" Foreman asked.  
"American Sign Language," Wilson explained.  
"But House isn't deaf...is he?" Cuddy asked worriedly.  
House shook his head and signed, I CAN'T SPEAK. IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY.  
Wilson translated for Foreman and Cuddy.  
"I'm going to go find Cameron and Chase and update them on House's status," Foreman said.  
sign sign sign sign sign sign sign  
Cameron and Chase were in the lab, doing nothing at all. Nothing except making out, that is.  
"Erm...sorry to interupt, but House just woke up," said Foreman as he entered the lab, adding, "You need to find a less public place in the hospital if you're going to make out here."  
sign sign sign sign sign sign sign sign  
"Why can't he speak?" Cameron asked.  
Foreman shrugged.  
"What can we do to help?" Chase asked.  
"Don't visit him," replied Wilson, as he entered the diagnostics lounge.  
"How is House now?" Cuddy asked.  
"Sleeping," replied Wilson.  
sign sign sign sign sign sign sign sing sign sign  
_House found himself standing in a forest.  
"You can fight this, House," encouraged a ghostly winged cougar.  
"Who the heck are you?" House demanded, turning to face the strange feline.  
"I am Nimrodel," the creature purred in answer.  
"That's Elvish," House remarked.  
Nimrodel only purred in reply.  
"Where are we anyway?" House asked.  
"Lothlorien."_  
Of course, we're in Lothlorien_, House grumbled to himself as a huge silver gryffin landed beside Nimrodel.  
"What the--!?" exclaimed House in surprise.  
"I am a gryffin. Name's Estel," the gryffin coolly said. "And I'll be your guide today."_  
'Estel' is Elvish for hope_, House recalled.  
"Then let's get moving!" he said, gesturing to Estel to lead the way.  
"House! Don't follow him!" shouted a famillar voice._  
Wilson?  
_Turning to face the speaker, House found that it had indeed been Wilson who had shouted.  
"Why, Wilson?" he asked.  
"Because I can't live without you," admitted Wilson._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Of Roommates and Visitors  
_a month later, house's apartment_  
"Cuddy decieded you'd be more comfortable in your apartment," Wilson explained for what felt like the hundredth time that day--which it probably was.  
**She just wanted me to stop pestering the nurses**, retorted House. Wilson rolled his eyes at House, who wassitting on his lumpy couch with his leg propped up on a pillow.  
"Whatever the reason, I'm moving back in with you."  
House grunted in digust.  
"Cameron offered to take care of you until you had fully recovered from your accident. I could still cal her," Wilson offered.  
**You wouldn't dare**, House signed.  
"Try me," Wilson challenged.

* * *

House found his motor skills were less than satisfactory for dining on his own, much less for anything at all.  
Wilson ended up having to spoonfeed House, much to the latter's sorrow.  
"House, stop acting so childish. I'm not going to tell anyone at the hospital about having to spoonfeed you," Wilson growled, frustrated by House's lack of cooperation. But eventually House was forced to surrender to Wilson's demands.

* * *

_the next morning, about 5:30  
_House woke to the sound of Wilson's evil hairdryer.  
_"I'm trying to sleep!"_ House tried to say, but only a loud groan could be heard.  
Wilson stopped drying his hair and ran to House's room, worried that House had hurt himself or something.  
**Why do you have to blow-dry your hair?** demanded House.  
Wilson rolled his eyes and replied, "Because, unlike you, I prefer to look much more presentable. Is that all?"  
House nodded.  
"You can try and catch a couple more minutes of sleep while I make breakfast then," Wilson continued.  
**Macademia nut pancakes**, signed House.  
"I'll wake you when they're ready," Wilson said. "Now get back to sleep."  
**Yes, Mother**, signed House as Wilson left the room.  
"Need me to sing you a lullaby?" Wilson shouted from the hallway in reply.  
A grunt to the negative was all Wilson got in answer.

* * *

_same day, about 9:22 A.M.  
_KNOCK! KNOCK!  
"It's unlocked!" Wilson called.  
Cuddy opened the door and came in.  
House grunted a greeting from where he sat on the couch.  
"What happened to signing?" demanded Cuddy, a little bit miffed that House had actually _grunted_ at her.  
"He's bored," Wilson explained.  
"I have a couple board games at home. I could go get them and the three of us could play them," Cuddy offered.  
Wilson glanced at House for his opinion. House nodded, intrigued as to what Cuddy would bring.

* * *

"I have Battleship, Risk, Sorry, Monopoly, Candyland, Clue, Chess, Chinese Checkers, Life, Scrabble, Cat-opoly, Dog-opoly, and Trouble," said Cuddy as she emptied a canvas tote bag that proudly stated in blue letters: "I surived med school and all I got was a diploma."  
**Trouble first** House signed with his usual smirk.  
Cuddy set the board up on the coffee table so House could play in comfort.  
It didn't take long for House to win. Cuddy accused him of cheating. But Wilson rose to House's defense, pointing out that House had never been alone with the board game.  
**It's almost that time of the month**, House informed Wilson.  
"What did he just say?" Cuddy demanded.  
"You really don't want to know."  
After a couple hours of playing board games, they took a break for lunch. Wilson had prepared finger food, so House was able to feed himself, much to his relief.  
Then Wilson helped House get to his room for a much-needed nap, as House had had only three hours of sleep the previous night.  
Then Cuddy and Wilson talked about House for a bit.  
"How is he?"  
"He asked me if I could loan him a copy of the Torah last night shortly before midnight," replied Wilson, wishing he could sleep on House's bed with him instead of talking with Cuddy (he'd gotten even less sleep than House had).  
"You think he's found religion?" Cuddy asked.  
"Doubt it."  
"His patient died last night."  
"He'll want to do the autopsy himself."  
"You think he's capable?"  
"By tomorrow morning he probably will be."  
"I'll inform Dr. Genny."  



	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Autopsy Cancelled  
The ringing of his cell phone at 4:59 in the morning woke Wilson from a fitful slumber.  
"Wilson."  
"Wilson, it's Cuddy. Sorry to call you so early in the morning, but I managed to reach the patient's next of kin, and they're orthadox jews. They won't consent to the autopsy unless we can figure out a kosher way of doing it," answered Cuddy.  
"House must have known his patient was from an orthadox jewish family," Wilson realized.  
"So can you help?" Cuddy asked.  
"Sorry, I can't."  
"But aren't you jewish?"  
"Not orthadox."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Momentary Relapse and Kristen  
"Holler if you need anything," Dr. Genny informed Wilson before leaving the autopsy room.  
"So, let's begin," Wilson informed House.  
"Let's," House agreed, rolling the special chair that Dr. Genny used for performing autopsies over to the stainless steel table on which House's recently deceased patient lay.

* * *

It happened when they were leaving the morgue. One moment House was limping alongside Wilson, complaining about how Cuddy seemed to have a thing for cripples, what with at least three of the doctors she'd hired being cripples. The next House was lying on the floor unconcious.

* * *

"What's wrong with House?" Cuddy asked Foreman, who was studying the results of the MRI he'd just performed on his unconcious boss.  
Foreman shrugged.  
"Nothing's wrong with his brain. Where's Wilson?"  
"With House. Why do you need him?"  
"I just thought he might like to know the results of the MRI. I'll go tell him myself."

* * *

_Nothingness. Time did not exist here. He knew that how long he floated in the void before the Bright Light began to shine in his eyes, blinding him.

* * *

_  
"I have mono," declared the pregnant woman sitting on the exam table.  
"What makes you think that?" Chase asked in disbelief.  
"Because Dr. House told me so," the woman said, as thought the Australian were a moron. "He wrote it on my chart."  
"You must be mistaken. There's no mention of mono in your file," Chase replied.  
"Where is he anyway?"  
"He's...busy with a patient," Chase lied.  
The woman snorted.  
"No, he's not."  
"How do you know?"  
"He's my brother."  
Chase was unable to reply to this.  
"And you must be his 'wombat.' Now, tell me, how is he?"  
"He's relasped into a coma," Chase replied as Cuddy entered the exam room.  
"Kristen!" exclaimed Cuddy in surprise. "Why are you here?"  
"To see my brother," Kristen House promptly replied.

* * *

"Hey Wilson," Kristen said as she entered House's room.  
"Hey, Kristen. How's the surrogate mother of my sister's baby doing?" Wilson replied.  
"Great," Kristen lied. But Wilson didn't notice.  
"And the baby?"  
"The idoit down in the clinic is really slow. I told him I had mono and he started treating me like I was mentally retarded."  
"Who?"  
"Some blonde-haired guy. Said his name was Robert Chase. Had a British accent."  
"He's Australian, not British."  
"Whatever. It's all the same to me. They both print the Queen on their money."  
"So do the Canadians and most of Britain's former tropical terretories."  
"See? They are _all_ British."  
"I think I know where House got his British/Australian opinions from now."

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: If i've made any medical errors, please tell me so i can fix them. Thanks!  
Chapter Seven: CPR  
"I need a crash cart in here STAT!" Foreman yelled at a passing nurse.  
Cameron and Chase were busy performing two-person CPR on House.  
"One-two-three-four-five," Chase counted as he compressed House's chest.  
Then Cameron gave House two rescue breaths as she checked for a pulse, even though he was still hooked up to the moniters.  
"One-two-three-four-five."  
Two rescue breaths.  
"One-two-three-four-five."  
Two rescue breaths.  
They kept it up until Foreman was ready with the paddles.  
"Charging," Foreman said as Cameron gave House two more breaths.  
"Clear."  
EEEE--BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...  
Foreman meet Cameron's and Chase's worried glances. He saw his own worries reflected in their faces.  
_What was wrong with House?_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: One Month to Live  
On the whiteboard was a list of some sort, written in Wilson's barely legible hand. Pretty much everything that Wilson and the ducklings could think that could cause a cardiac arrest was on it.  
"Okay, now to knock off the obvious ones," Wilson said, crossing off more than a third of the list, eventually leaving only four possiblities, four potenial death sentences.  
TRAUMA FROM ACCIDENT  
CANCER  
INFECTION  
RESPIRATORY DISTRESS  
"Okay, what about trauma?" Wilson asked.  
"His heart would have gone into cardiac arrest much sooner if it was caused by the accident," Chase replied.  
TRAUMA was crossed off.  
"Cancer?" Wilson asked, feeling a lump form in his throat as he spoke.  
"We've already sent a sample of his blood to the lab to be tested for the presence of cancer protiens," replied Cameron. "The results should be back in an hour or so."  
CANCER got a question mark.  
"Infection?"  
"He does have fever, and his white blood cell count is up," Foreman said.  
INFECTION also got a question mark.  
"Respiratory Distress?"  
Chase shook his head. Wilson crossed it off.  
"So that just leaves cancer and infection, both of which can cause all the symptoms House has," Wilson said with a sigh of frustration.  
"What about lupus?" Cameron asked out of the blue.  
"It's possible."  
Wilson added LUPUS? to the list.  
"Now what do we do?" Chase asked.  
"Cameron, check House's ANA. And while you're at it, pick up the results of the cancer protein testing too. Chase, test House for a bacterial infection. Foreman, help Chase," Wilson directed the three lost ducklings.  
"What about you, Wilson?" Cameron asked.  
"I'll be with House," Wilson replied. 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: There is definitely some spelling errors in this chapter.

Chapter Nine: The Transplant Commitee  
"It's brucellus," Chase informed Wilson.  
"And his heart?" Wilson asked, though he knew the answer.  
"He needs a transplant," replied Chase.  
"How long can he last without one?" Wilson asked, dreading the worst.  
"A month at best."  
"I'll present his case to the transplant committee myself," Wilson said, gesturing for the file. He handed it to him. "Don't let Cuddy know it's House."

* * *

"Patient is a white male, forty-seven years old, healthy except for congestive heart failure as a result of a brucellous infection and chronic pain in right thigh as the result of an infarction six years ago," Wilson said before listing the patient's current vitals.  
"Any potential disqualifying factors?" Cuddy asked.  
"Patient is addicted to vicodin. He also drinks."  
"How long does he have?" someone else asked.  
"A month at best."

* * *

"So, what did they say?" Kristen asked as Wilson entered the diagnostics lounge. Cameron, Chase, and Foreman eagerly awaited Wilson's answer too.  
"No," Wilson said as he sat down in a chair and hung his head sadly.  
Cameron turned to Chase and Foreman and said, "I'll be right back."  
"Wonder what she's up to," remarked Chase.  
Noone had an answer.

* * *

Cameron returned with a stack of files. Kristen and Wilson were gone, probably to check on House. Cameron divided the stack into three smaller piles, placing a single stack each in front of Chase, Foreman, and herself.  
"What are we looking for?" Foreman asked.  
"A heart for House," Cameron replied.

* * *

Kristen and Wilson, in fact, had **NOT** gone to see House. Instead they had gone to the hospital roof to think.  
_Someone close to Greg will have to die_, Kristen thought as the unborn baby in her womb kicked, as if to remind her of its presence.  
"I want to be tested," Kristen said suddenly.  
"Tested? For what?" Wilson asked, caught off-guard by Kristen's statement.  
"To find out if I'm compatible," Kristen replied.  
"But you're pregnant!"  
"House will still be alive in a month, won't he?"

* * *

Every file was rejected for one reason or another. Cameron could feel tears of frustration welling in her eyes. Chase had a bruise forming on his head from where he'd hit it on the table in frustration. Foreman had begun to pace the length of the room once he'd finished going through his stack. 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Oops! Missed a Ship!

A/N1: "Thinking of You" by Hanson

Chapter Ten: Thinking of You  
Cameron entered House's hospital room to chack his vitals, to find Wilson asleep in the visitor's chair. She walked as quietly as she could, so that she didn't disturb House (who was also asleep) and Wilson.  
_Have you ever stood outside a picket fence  
You could see through but you can't get to the inside  
You sit there and wait  
I look at you and anticipate  
What we could be and what we could do_  
Cameron felt her heart breaking as she gazed at her boss, who had less than a month to live. And parents didn't even know they would be losing their son. Or maybe their daughter, instead. Kristen was now the only option left to House.  
_Fly the wings of an eagle  
Glide along with the wind  
No matter how high  
I'll be thinking of you the whole time_  
And the stubborn idiot had refused. He didn't want his sister's heart.  
_Fly with the wings of an eagle  
Glide along with the wind  
No matter how high  
I'll be thinking of you_  
Cameron knew that Wilson and Cuddy were planning to put House into a chemical coma so that they could "have their way with him."  
_I'm carrying this heavy load  
I don't know what to do  
The only thing I know is that  
I'm in love with you Oh  
Fly the wings of an eagle  
No matter how high  
I'll be thinking of you_  
Kristen would be placed on suicide watch the instant she gave birth.  
_Fly the wings of an eagle  
Glide along with the wind  
No matter how high  
I'll be thinking of you_  
Cameron wondered how Kristen had ended up being a surrogate mother for Wilson's sister, anyway. She'd ask Wilson about it later.  
_Fly with the wings of an eagle  
Glide along with the wind  
No matter how high  
I'll be thinking of you_  
"Stop staring. It's rude," House whispered. Electric blue eyes held Cameron captive in their intense gaze.  
"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Cameron asked, surprised that he was awake.  
_No matter how high  
No matter how low  
I'll be thinking of you_  
"Fine. Where's Wilson?"  
"Right behind me," replied Cameron.  
_No matter what I do  
No matter where I go  
I'll be thinking of you_  
"And he's now awake," Wilson added as he stretched and got up.  
_You'll be on my mind all the time  
You'll be on my mind all the time  
You'll be on my mind, I'll be thinking of you the whole time_  
Cameron's pager beeped. So did Wilson's. He looked at the urgent message on the screen.  
"It's Kristen. She's gone into premature labor.  
"Go, Wilson," Cameron urged. "I'll stay here with House."

* * *

"Stillborn," Wilson informed House, Cameron, and Foreman. Chase and Cuddy had been with Kristen when she had gone into premature labor.  
"She's on suicide watch, right?" Foreman promptly asked.  
"Of course," Wilson replied.  
"Don't give her _any_ narcotics. If she is on any now, get her off them immediately," House directed.  
"Why?" demanded Wilson, knowing that doing what House wanted would put Kristen in pain (as they'd had to operate on her to remove the dead baby's body from the birth canal).  
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" grumbled House.  
But before anyone could reply, Wilson's pager went off.  
He read the screen and paled.  
"Too late," House said.

* * *

"How did she manage to OD on _Vicodin_?" Cuddy demanded of House.  
"She stole some of my vicodin," replied House.  
"And when were you going to say something!?!?!!?!" shreiked Cuddy.  
"I didn't--" began House. He clutched at his chest and gasped at the pain he felt there. He could almost feel his heart beating against his ribs. The moniters began to shriek their shrill alarms as House started seizing and as his heart started beating wildly in his chest.  
"He's tachycardiac! He's gonna go into cardiac arrest!" exclaimed Foreman.  
"His heart can't handle it!" Cameron shouted.  
"Ativan, 2 cc's," Chase said, barely keeping a cool head on his shoulders. Cuddy handed him the requested drugs, and Chase injected it into House's IV line.

* * *

"It was only pure luck that he managed to surive that," Chase told the others. "We need to find him a new heart soon. He won't surive another episode like that."  
"Kristen," Wilson said.  
"What about her?" Cuddy asked.  
"She's still on life support, right?"  
Cuddy nodded as Wilson continued.  
"She's a perfect match. She had me test her."  
"House doesn't want her heart," Foreman reminded them.  
"He's in a coma at that moment, and his medical proxy's a vegatable," snapped Wilson.  
"Who's Kristen's medical proxy?" Cuddy asked. "Especially since their parents are still out of reach."  
"I am," Wilson replied.  
"And what do you say?"  
"To hell with what House wants," Wilson replied truthfully, secretly enjoying the shocked expression on Cuddy's face.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: I gotta wake up (and face reality)  
_"We can't escape our genetics, Greg," Kristen said. The two of them were standing side-by-side on House's balcony, leaning on the barrier.  
"What do you mean?" House asked.  
"You know very well what I mean," replied Kristen.

* * *

_Cuddy stood beside his hospital bed, waiting for him to wake up. She'd insisted on being the one to deliver the bad news.  
_Have I been sleeping?  
I've been so still_  
"I know I'm sexy in a hospital gown, but when it's _you_ that's doing the staring, it's kinda creepy," House whispered, making Cuddy jump. She hadn't realized that he'd woken up.  
_Afraid of crumbling  
Have I been careless?  
Dismissing all the distant rumblings  
Take me where I am supposed to be  
To comprehend the things that I can't see_  
Taking a deep breath, Cuddy said, "House, there's something I need to tell you."  
"What? You're pregnant and I'm the father?" House asked in mock seriousness.  
_Cause I need to move  
I need to wake up  
I need to change  
I need to shake up  
I need to speak out_  
Cuddy glared at him as she said, "It's Kristen. She's dead."  
_Something's got to break up  
I've been asleep  
And I need to wake up  
Now_  
"Wilson pull the plug or did he get a nurse to do it?" House asked.  
"He did it himself," replied Cuddy.  
_And as a child  
I danced like it was 1999  
My dreams were wild  
The promise of this new world  
Would be mine _  
"What did our folks say?" House asked.  
"They're still out of reach."  
"So they haven't been told?"  
Cuddy nodded.  
"Good."  
_Now I am throwing off the carelessness of youth  
To listen to an inconvenient truth_  
"House, there's something else I need to tell you."  
"So you _are_ pregnant!"  
_That I need to move  
I need to wake up  
I need to change_  
"We transplanted Kristen's heart."  
House lightly tapped his chest as he asked, "Here?"  
_I need to shake up  
I need to speak out  
Something's got to break up  
I've been asleep  
And I need to wake up  
Now_  
Cuddy nodded.  
_I am not an island  
I am not alone  
I am my intentions  
Trapped here in this flesh and bone_  
"Who gave consent?"  
"Wilson."  
_And I need to move  
I need to wake up  
I need to change  
I need to shake up  
I need to speak out _  
House bit his lip as his leg started to hurt real bad.  
_Something's got to break up  
I've been asleep  
And I need to wake up  
Now_  
"Cuddy, please take your fun bags and leave," House begged as a young nurse entered the room.  
Cuddy left in a huff.  
_I want to change  
I need to shake up  
I need to speak out_  
House glared at the nurse until she also left.  
Then he let the tears of pain and of loss that were welling in his eyes fall.  
_Oh, Something's got to break up  
I've been asleep  
And I need to wake up  
Now_  
"WILSON!" House screamed.

* * *

"Dr. Wilson?" the nurse hestiantly called as she knocked softly on the door to the oncologist's office.  
"What is it, Jess?" Wilson asked, gesturing for the young nurse to take a seat across from him.  
Jess sat down before replying.  
"It's Dr. House," she said.  
"Is he awake?" Wilson asked.  
Jess nodded before adding, "And Dr. Cuddy told him about Kristen."  
Wilson groaned.  
"Are you alright, Dr. Wilson?" Jess asked, worried by the reaction her statement had gotten from Wilson.  
"I'm fine, Jess. I just wish Dr. Cuddy hadn't told House about Kristen so soon after he woke up," Wilson explained.  
"Why's that, Dr. Wilson?" Jess asked, eyes wide in amazement.  
"Dr. House doesn't handle bad news very well," Wilson explained.

* * *

"Hey, House, I'm here," Wilson said as he injected morphine into House's IV line. He ignored the tears that were glistening in House's eyes. Instead he stroked his friend's cheek, tenderly and lovingly brushing away the tears.  
"Thanks," mumbled House as the morphine began to relieve the pain in his leg and chest.  
"No problem," Wilson replied with a soft smile.

* * *

"So, who told you I was up?" House asked about an hour later.  
"Jess," Wilson replied.  
"Nurse Jess with the jazzy style?" House asked.  
"The one and only," Wilson replied.  
"She has a crush on me," House remarked.  
"I've noticed."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Revealations  
Wilson moved back into House's apartment about a week before House was finally admitted from the hospital. Cuddy refused to let him go until she was completely satifised that House was as ambulatory as he was before the accident, and that he would be able to return to work the very next day.  
The final hurdle House would have to face on the road to recovery was clinic duty. But that wouldn't be an issue for another month.

* * *

_a month later_  
"We're going to "wean" you back into doing clinic duty," Cuddy said.  
"I wish you the best of luck with that," House replied. Secretly, though, House had actually _missed_ clinic duty. Not that he'd admit it to anyone, mind you.  
"I expect you to work two hours Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the clinic for the next five weeks," Cuddy continued, ignoring House's comment.  
"And then?" asked Wilson. He would make sure House obeyed the restrictions Cuddy had decieded on.  
Unbeknownst to Cuddy and Wilson, House had secretly stopped taking his immunosupressants.  
"We'll see when we get there," Cuddy replied.

* * *

Wilson asked Brenda to send only those patients who obviously didn't have a cold or a flu in to House.  
"You know what, Dr. Wilson?" Brenda asked in reply.  
_You consider me the young apprentice  
Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes,  
Hypnotized by you if I should linger  
Staring at the ring around your finger_  
"What, Brenda?" Wilson asked.  
"Dr. House has you wrapped around his finger," replied Brenda.  
_I have only come here seeking knowledge,  
Things they wouldn't teach me of in college  
I can see the destiny you sold  
Turning into a shining band of gold_  
"Maybe I should get him a ring with my name on it," Wilson suggested.  
_I'll be wrapped around your finger_  
Brenda laughed.  
_Mephistopheles is not your name  
But I know what you're up to is just the same  
I will listen hard to your tuition  
And you will see it come to its fruition_  
"But can you get him to wear it?" she challenged.  
_I'll be wrapped around your finger_  
Wilson shrugged before replying.  
_Devil and the deep blue sea behind me  
Vanish in the air you'll never find me  
I will turn your face to alabaster  
Then you will find your servant is your master,  
And you'll be wrapped around my finger..._  
"Maybe if I started wearing a ring with his name on it," he mused.  
"I know a place where you can buy personalized rings like that," Brenda remarked off-handedly.  
Before Wilson could reply, House stuck his head out of exam room three and shouted, "Dying of boredom in here!"  
"Here, Dr. Wilson," Brenda said, handing Wilson a stack of files. There was enough files to last House two hours, if House didn't play around.

* * *

"Q Queuecont?" Wilson called, reading the name off the file.  
A man who reminded Wilson of the holographic doctor from _Star Trek: Voyager_ stood up.  
"Exam room three, please. Dr. House will be seeing you," Wilson told him.  
The man nodded, giving the oncologist a slight smile before asking, "How is he doing? Doctor House, I mean."  
"Better," Wilson said, surprised by Q's question.  
"Probably faking it," Q said.  
"Faking what? Getting better?" Wilson asked, intrigued by Q.  
"Yeah. He did it once in high school so he could play in the championship lacrosse game."  
"Did he make it?" Wilson asked, hand reaching for the doorknob.  
Q opened his mouth to respond, but House beat him to it.  
"I made the winning throw before passing out!" House yelled. "Now get in here you two!"  
Q and Wilson obeyed.  
"Haven't seen you in a while, Greg," Q remarked as he sat down on the exam table. House didn't look up from Q's file as he grunted in response.  
"Did you play lacrosse yesterday?" House suddenly asked.  
"No. I don't play anymore."  
"What were you doing then when you sprained your back then?"  
Q whispered into House's ear something. Wilson couldn't catch it. But whatever it was, House seemed to find it hilarous.

* * *

_two hours later..._  
"Ready for lunch?" Wilson asked. House didn't answer.  
"House? What's wrong?"  
"Leg. Cramp," House replied through gritted teeth.  
"Number?" Wilson asked as he helped House to lie down on his back on the exam table.  
"Eight."  
It took nearly thirty minutes of Wilson massaging House's leg for the cramp to finally dissappate.

* * *

They'd decided to eat lunch in House's office instead.  
"What's going on, House?" Wilson demanded once they'd finished eating. House had barely touched his own lunch--and didn't even steal any of Wilson's for once.  
"Don't you have bald kids to play God to?" House demanded.  
"Not for another hour or so," replied Wilson, fixing House with his "rat terrier" glare. It worked.  
"It's my fault she died," House said suddenly.  
"Kristen?"  
House nodded.  
"She killed herself because she thought that if she didn't she would lose the one person who meant something ot her, the one person who cared about her enough to find a couple willing to have her bear their child," Wilson reminded him. "She knew that her heart was the only truely viable option left to you. I made the mistake of telling her the results of her tests. I told her that the two of you were a _perfect_ match. If anyone still living is to blame for her death, it is me, not you."  
"You didn't have to test her," House muttered, "to know she was a perfect match."  
"What do you mean?" Wilson asked.  
"Identical twins share the same genetic make-up, Wilson. We were identical twins." 


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: There is a _very_ good reason for this chapter's name...

Chapter 13: It's Gross Biology, my dear Wilson  
_"You didn't have to test her," House muttered, "to know she was a perfect match."  
"What do you mean?" Wilson asked.  
"Identical twins share the same genetic make-up, Wilson. We were identical twins."_  
"But you're a guy! And she's a girl!" exclaimed Wilson. "You can't be identical twins!"  
"It's called "chimerism" or something," replied House.  
"So the two of you were born hedrosexual?" Wilson asked in amazement.  
House nodded.  
"So you have only one testicle?" Wilson asked, blushing as he said the last word.  
"The doctors transplanted Kristen's male parts and my female parts in her," House replied, ignoring how his statement sounded.  
"How'd they manage that? Wouldn't they have to reverse the organs?" Wilson asked, embaressment replaced by curiosity.  
"Not nessecarily, Wilson," House replied, "especially since we were reflections of each other."  
"So your right was her left?" Wilson asked to make sure he understood House correctly.  
House nodded.  
"So that explains why she's left-handed and you're not."  
"Yeah," House agreed.

* * *

_two months later, 9:00 A.M._  
Wilson was going through paperwork in his office when his pager went off.  
_HELP. GH_  
Wilson replied with a message of his own.  
_WHERE R U? JW_  
The reply made Wilson run as fast as he could to the rescue.  
_LAB. BIO SPILL. TRAPPED. GH_


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: This chapter was inspired by an episode of _Bones_

Chapter 14: Accident  
_10:00 A.M._  
A small "crowd" of people stood outside the lab's locked doors.  
"The biosensors in the lab's ventalliation system triggered the locking mechcanism in the doors," Cuddy explained to House's "ducklings." Today they were especially duckling-like, she couldn't help but note. "once the ventillation system has done it's job, we can go in and clean up the rest of the mess."  
Wilson was busy trying to figure out what exactly had happened.  
"What did you knock over, House?" he asked for what felt like the hundredth time.  
"Shut up, Jimmy, I'm trying to find out," House finally snapped through the glass barrier that was all that stood between Wilson and a cane-shaped object making a cane-shaped dent in the oncologist's skull.  
"House, you could have said something."  
"Do you want to know or not?" House demanded.  
"Of course I do."  
"Three vials of blood, a vial of urine, two vials of spinal fluid, three vials of fluid drawn from someone's lungs, a bottle of fresh spring water, and a petri dish."  
"A petri dish? What was in it?"  
"Some kind of mold."  
"What did it look like?"  
"It reminded me of bread mold, actually."  
"That must've been what tripped the biosensors," Wilson mused.

* * *

_thirty-five minutes later..._  
"It reminds me of something I saw on TV awhile back," House said.  
"What does?"  
"This situation."  
"What show?"  
"_Bones_."  
"Never heard of it. What's it about?"  
So House explained to Wilson what _Bones_ was all about.  
"...all use science to catch the bad guys and save the day," House finished.  
"Maybe I'll watch it with you sometime."  
"And then we can watch _Mythbusters_ on the Discovery Channel afterwards," House replied, thankful for the distraction from his present predicament.  
"What? You don't watch _American Idol_?" Wilson asked, surprised.  
"Three words: 'TiVo in the oncology lounge'."  
"That's five words."  
"Whatever. What do you think of that contestant from Virginia?"  
"Chris Richardson?"  
House nodded.  
"I hope he wins. He's definitely got talent."  
"I hear that the _American Idol_ results are published on the front page of the local newspaper in his hometown now."  
"Where'd you hear that?"  
"You read a Virginian newspaper?"  
"Just the website."  
"Still a _Virginian_ newspaper?"  
"I might move to Hampton some day."  
"Hampton, New Jersey?"  
"Hampton, _VIRGINIA_."  
"What ever for?"  
"The hospitals there are much more cripple-friendly."  
"What makes you say that?"  
"No snow or ice in the winter."  
"Oh, is that all?"  
**CLICK!!!!!**  
The doors unlocked themselves--_finally_.  
Cuddy, Wilson, and the ducklings entered the lab to clean up the mess and make sure House was alright.

* * *

House seemed to be alright.  
But the first inkling of the misadventures to come would make themselves known the very next day, bright and early. 


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Too bad Chris Richardson's been sent home...cries

Chapter 15: Infection  
_next morning, 3:30 A.M._  
It wasn't the sound of Wilson's evil hairdryer that woke House. It wasn't an alarm clock buzzing that interrupted his sleep. It wasn't a pager or cell phone vibrating or ringing that disturbed his uneasy rest.  
It wasn't even his bad leg that made sleep impossible this time.  
House woke up in the midst of a really bad fit of coughing.  
He got up to get a cup of water to soothe his parched throat, moving as quietly as he could to avoid disturbing his still sleeping lover.  
He barely made it back to bed before his body decieded to evict his lungs.  
This time, Wilson's slumber was interrupted.  
"House? You alright?" he asked sleepily.  
"Yeah, it's just a cold. Go back to sleep," House replied, all the while thinking, _If this is just a simple case of the common cold, then I'm_ NOT _Doctor House._  
Call it intuition, call it gut instinct, call it divine intervention, call it whatever you so desire to call the feeling House had on the matter of his "cold", House just knew it couldn't be a cold. He drifted off into an uneasy sleep...

* * *

_9:42 A.M._  
"House, you're sick. You shouldn't go to work today," Wilson agrued.  
"I'd rather be at a hospital than here," retorted House.  
Wilson's eyebrows skyrocketed.  
"I don't think it's a cold," House admitted. _Why was he folding so easily to Wilson lately?_  
"I'll run some tests, see what's going on," Wilson replied.  
"That's why you're my boyfriend," House said.  
"Huh?"  
"You like running tests on me," House clarified.  
Wilson groaned and rolled his eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Add a Fever to the Mix  
_twelve noon_  
"How are you feeling?" Wilson asked as he entered House's office, bearing food and the results of the labs he'd run earlier.  
"Got a fever now. 104 point 3," replied House, too tired to avoid the question. That worried Wilson, but he managed to hide his worry. House was still wearing his jacket. But it didn't seem to help much though, since he was still shivering.  
"I'll be right back. _Don't_ touch the food _or_ the results," Wilson directed. Then he ran to his office and got the heavy woolen blanket he kept there for when he pulled an all-nighter. Then he ran back to House's office with the blanket.  
"Here, this should help," Wilson said as he wrapped House in the blanket. The oncologist could feel the heat radiating off his friend's fevered body.  
Wilson frowned at how pale House was.  
"You're almost as white as my lab coat," Wilson remarked.  
House only grunted in reply, as he was too worn out from coughing and the fever to come up with a truely witty remark.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Truth  
_2:10 P.M._  
Cuddy and Wilson entered House's office to find the ducklings sitting in chairs, keeping an eye on their ailing boss, who was fast asleep at the moment.  
"What's up with House?" Cameron demanded.  
"He's got the flu," Wilson said.  
"But he has a fever. Isn't he on immunosupressants?" Chase asked.  
"Nope," said House before Wilson could reply.  
"You haven't been taking your meds?" Wilson demanded. House nodded.  
"Who has then?" Cameron asked.  
"Sahra Ward," replied House.  
"The girl whose parents couldn't afford to pay for her meds?" Cuddy asked. House nodded again.  
"Why?" Foreman asked.  
"Because she needed them more than I did," House growled.  
"And what the hell makes you think that!?" snapped Cuddy angrily.  
"Beacause my twin sister's heart is in my chest!" yelled House, making his sore throat hurt worse.  
"House, calm down," Wilson said soothingly as he approached House and gently stroked his sweat-soaked forehead.  
House took several deep breaths--or at least tried to--before saying, "Legionare's."  
"Huh?"  
"I have Legionare's," House repeated.  
"I'll call the CDC," Cuddy grumbled as she left to do so. She'd already called them about an earlier outbreak of Legionare's several months ago--that House and his team had nipped in the bud. In fact, he'd just solved that puzzle the day of his accident.  
Wilson realised where'd House had been exposed: the lab.  
"What happened to that petri dish with mold growing in it that you mentioned yesterday in the lab?" Wilson asked House.  
By this time, House looked so pale that Wilson's labcoat seemed to have yellowed in comparision.  
"Biohazardous waste...where do _you_ think it is?" House rasped.  
Wilson, ignoring House's remark, directed Cameron to find out what happened to the petri dish, and to Chase and Foreman to get a wheelchair and a room ready for House.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: "King of Pain" by the Police  
Chapter 18: Legions of Pain  
_9:40 p.m._  
Wilson removed the oxygen mask after House's O2 stats had returned to normal.  
"Can you breath okay now?" he asked House.  
House nodded.  
_There's a little black spot on the sun today  
It's the same old thing as yesterday  
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top  
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop_  
"What am I going to do with you?" Wilson asked. He immediately regretted saying the question.  
_I have stood here before inside the pouring rain  
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain  
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign  
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain_  
"Shoot me?" House suggested with a smirk.  
_There's a little black spot on the sun today  
That's my soul up there  
It's the same old thing as yesterday  
That's my soul up there  
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top  
That's my soul up there  
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop  
That's my soul up there_  
Wilson rolled his eyes.  
_I have stood here before inside the pouring rain  
With the world turning circles 'round my brain  
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign  
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain_  
"Ever thought of _not_ being antisocial for once, House?" Wilson asked suddenly.  
"Why, Jimmy, are you missing out on the life you led as a married man?" House jeered.  
_There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall  
That's my soul up there  
There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall  
That's my soul up there  
There's a blue whale beached by a springtide's ebb  
That's my soul up there  
There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web  
That's my soul up there_  
"House, please," Wilson begged.  
"Sorry, I didn't--" began House, but Wilson interrupted him.  
_I have stood here before inside the pouring rain  
With the world turning circles 'round my brain  
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign  
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain_  
"You never think before you open your damn mouth!" yelled Wilson.  
_There's a king on a throne with his eyes torn out  
There's a blind man looking for a shadow of a doubt  
There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed  
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread_  
Shocked by Wilson's reaction, House didn't respond.  
_There's a red fox torn by a huntsman's pack  
That's my soul up there  
There's a black winged gull with a broken back  
That's my soul up there  
There's a little black spot on the sun today  
It's the same old thing as yesterday_  
"House? Are you alright?" Wilson asked, worried by House silence.  
_I have stood here before inside the pouring rain  
With the world turning circles 'round my brain  
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign  
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain..._  
"I'm fine, Wilson. I just want to get some sleep," House replied.  
"Want me to turn off the lights and close the blinds?" Wilson offered.  
"Please."  
Wilson did so and then sat down in the vistor's chair...  
_King of pain  
I'll always be the king of pain..._


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: "Intervals" by Walt Whitman and "Fight" by Amy Grant

Chapter 19: Fever Dreams

House opened his eyes to find a famillar pair of electric blue eyes looking back at him.  
"Kristen?" House cried out in surprise.  
"_Ages and ages returning at intervals,  
Undestroy'd, wandering immortal,  
Lusty, phallic, with the potent orginal, prefectly sweet,  
I, charter of Adamic songs,  
Through the new garden the west, the great cities calling,  
Deliriate, thus prelude what is generated, offering these, offering myself,  
Bathing myself, bathing my songs in Sex,  
Offspring of my loins_," recited Kristen.  
"Whitman," House breathed, recognising the poem Kristen had recited.

* * *

one a.m., the next day  
_"Kristen!?" House shouted, waking Wilson. House stared wide-eyed at empty space, violently shivering.  
Wilson quickly found a strip thermometer and laid it on House's forehead._  
**105.1**  
_House needed to be cooled down or risk perment brain damage.  
Wilson pressed the "call nurse" button as House said, "Whitman."_  
Whitman? _Wilson wondered. His thoughts were cut short, however, by the arrival of the nurse on night duty.  
"I need lots and lots of ice packs," Wilson told her. "And get Dr. Cuddy."  
The nurse nodded and left to get as many ice packs as she could find.  
"STOP TALKING IN RHYME, KRISTEN!" House yelled suddenly.  
"House, Kristen is dead. She's not talking, peroid," Wilson said, getting really scared when House didn't answer him.

* * *

_"Correct," replied Kristen, before reciting yet another poem.  
_"Tears! tears! tears!  
In the night, in solitude, tears,  
On the white shore dripping, dripping, suck'd in by the sand,  
Tears, not a star shining, all dark and desolate,  
Moist tears from the eyes of a muffled head;  
O Who is that ghost? that form in the dark, with tears?  
What shapeless lump is that, bent, crouch'd there on the sand?  
Streaming tears, sobbing tears, throes, choked with wild cries;  
O Storm, embodied, rising, careering with swift steps along the beach!  
O wild and dismal night storm, with wind--O belching and desperate!  
O shade so sedate and decorous by day, with calm countenance and regulated pace,  
But away at night as you fly, none looking--O then the unloosen'd ocean,  
Of tears! tears! tears!"_  
"STOP TALKING IN RHYMES, KRISTEN!" House yelled, losing his patience.  
Shocked by his own outburst, House stood staring wide-eyed at his twin sister, who stood staring wide-eyed back at him, just as shocked by his outburst as he was.  
"Sorry," House apolgised.  
"It's okay, Greg," Kristen replied, "I knew how you feel about that particular poem and shouldn't've recited it to begin with."  
"It was his favorite. He always--I never told you about that, Kristen. I never even told Wilson I'd gone to med school with his long-lost big brother," House replied.

* * *

_As Wilson placed towel-wrapped ice packs along House's torso, legs, arms, and neck, House said in a hoarse voice, "Sorry."  
"Sorry for what?" Wilson asked, but as he'd expected, he didn't get a response.  
The nurse handed Wilson a damp cloth which he laid across House's forehead.  
"Dr. Cuddy is at home," the nurse said.  
Wilson directed the nurse, whose name was Deena, to call Cuddy at home and inform her of House's worsening condition.  
"...I never even told Wilson I'd gone to med school with his long lost big brother."  
Wilson froze.

* * *

_Suddenly House was surrounded by a ring of people. Each spoke to him in turn what they thought of him.  
"It's your fault we're dead," Kristen told him, cradling the limp and lifeless body of an infant that looked eeriely alot like Wilson. Its lifeless brown eyes stared accusingly at him. "If you had waited for Wilson to take you home, you would have never gotten infected with brucellous."  
"You don't know that," House replied.  
"But can you be certain that I'm wrong?" she challenged.  
House was unable to answer that one.

* * *

_"You don't know that."  
Wilson mopped House's fevered brow, hoping fervantly that his friend--no, his_ lover_--would respond to his touch. But reality was a distant world for House.  
"What's taking Cuddy so long?" Wilson mused to himself._

* * *

"It's your fault I'm unable to bear children," Cuddy accused House, angrily jabbing a finger at him.  
"How is that my fault? I don't do historecomies on deans of medicine."

* * *

_"How is that my fault? I don't do historecomies on deans of medicine."  
Right on cue, Cuddy entered the room in time to hear House.  
"Cuddy, don't answer. He's delirous," Wilson informed her before she could snap at House.

* * *

_"It's your fault we got HIV," Cameron and Chase said accusingly.  
"You two chose to have sex together," House retorted as his leg began to throb with pain.

* * *

_"What is his temp now?" Cuddy asked.  
"104 point 7."  
"Stable?"  
Wilson nodded.  
"You two choose to have sex together."  
Cuddy and Wilson blushed.  
"Even when he's delirous with fever..." Cuddy began, but she left the sentence unfinished.

* * *

_"It's your fault I became homeless, you and your racial bias," accused Foreman.  
"Since when were you homeless?" House asked, sincerely interested.

* * *

_"Since when were you homeless?"  
Wilson gave House a quizzical look.  
"I kept my word, Damien, I never told him."__

* * *

_"You told James. He knows about us." Damien Wilson was dressed as House had seen him last, wrapped from head to toe in gauze bandages like an ancient Egyptian mummy.  
"I kept my word, Damien. I never told him," House said in self-defense.  
"LIAR!" jeered Damien, before rejoining the circle, to be replaced by a librarian House knew quite well.  
"Mick."  
"You lied to me, Dr. House," spat Mick.  
"It was stolen, Mick. I didn't lie," House argued.  
"Not that, you idoit. You never paid any of your overdue fees."  
"Oh, that. How much do I owe?"  
_

* * *

"Mick."  
Who is Mick? Cuddy wondered.  
"It was stolen, Mick. I didn't lie."  
Cuddy snorted at this.  
"Oh, that. How much do I owe?"  
This Mick must be a librarian, Cuddy decieded.

* * *

_After Mick was Shana:  
"You forgot your umbrella on purpose."  
Then Martha:  
"You idiot! You caught Brucelous!"  
Then Jess:  
"Why won't you tell Wilson how much he means to you?!?!"  
"But I already did, Jess," House pointed out._

* * *

Cuddy and Wilson replaced the ice packs with fresh ones as a nurse took House's temperature.  
"103 point 9," Nurse Cath read the thermometer's display aloud.  
_You know some days I like me  
Some days I don't  
Some days I try with passion  
Sometimes I won't  
_"Where's Wilson?" House croaked.  
"I'm right here, House," Wilson said, taking his hand. House didn't seem to recognise his prescence.  
_I might just hold my guard up  
And lock my heart up tight  
But it's the door that's open  
Letting in the light  
_"His fever's rising!" cried Cath.  
"What's his temperature?" Cuddy asked.  
"104 point 3," replied the nurse.  
"Wilson, we have to use the ice bath," Cuddy said.  
"NO!" Wilson shouted, stunning both Cuddy and Cath.  
_There's a battle raging  
Inside of me  
It's a holy struggle  
And it won't let go of me  
_"Please, could we wait a little bit longer before we get that drastic?" Wilson begged.  
_No no no  
I don't want to stop the fighting  
Wo wo wo  
I just want to live right  
_"If his fever isn't down to 102 point 5 by noon, then we will have no choice but to try the ice bath," Cuddy decieded.  
_I used to sit and ponder  
If I'd be fine  
If Jesus lived his own life  
And I lived mine  
But love is such a magnet  
It pulled me night and day  
Until my needy heart  
Just couldn't stay away  
_Cuddy left Nurse Cath and Wilson alone in the room with House. She hoped to cath House's team before they could visit their boss.  
_Life can drive you crazy  
Or just about  
But even when it's most frustrating  
This kid's not walking out  
_Cath put in a new catheter, then left Wilson alone in the room with House.  
_No no no  
I don't want to stop the fighting  
Wo wo wo  
Sure it's tough and I won't deny it  
No no no  
I don't want to waste my life hiding  
Wo wo wo  
I just want to live right  
_Wilson continued to check House's temperature every thirty minutes.  
_I've made up my mind now  
I don't want to lose out (unguarded)  
Beginning to see now  
What the fight is about (unguarded heart)  
_104 point 2...  
104 exactly...  
104 point 4...  
103 point 9...  
_I gotta stay open  
Keep defenses all down (unguarded)  
Don't want to be hiding  
When the love comes 'round  
_103 point 2...  
103 point 1...  
102 point 9...  
_No no no  
I don't want to stop the fighting  
Wo wo wo  
I just want to live right  
_102 point 9...  
102 point 9...  
102 point 9...  
_No no no  
I don't want to stop the fighting  
Wo wo wo  
Sure it's tough and I won't deny it  
_102 point 9...  
102 point 9...  
102 point 9...  
102 point 9...  
_No no no  
I don't want to waste my life hiding  
Wo wo wo  
I just want to live right  
_"What's his temp?" Cuddy asked Wilson as she entered the room. It was now twelve o'clock.  
"102 point 9," replied Wilson, "And it's been that way for the last couple of times I checked."  
"That's good," Cuddy nodded.  
"So no ice bath?"  
"No ice bath," confirmed Cuddy._


End file.
